Gendarmerie Alternative: Is There a Case for the Existence of Police Organisations with Military Status in the Twenty-First Century European Security Apparatus?

• NCJ Number: 226509
• Journal: International Journal of Police Science & Management Volume: 10 Issue: 4 Dated: Winter 2008 Pages: 448-463
• Author(s): Pierre Gobinet
• Date Published: 2008
• Length: 16 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Issue Overview; Historical Overview
• Language: English
• Country: United Kingdom

Annotation

This critical analysis of the relevant literature focuses on how gendarmeries are viewed by the English-speaking academic community, with attention to why this perception has become flawed, since police forces bearing a military status are useful in promoting the liberal-democratic policing ideal in 21st century Europe.

Abstract

Historical literature traditionally associates gendarmerie force with antiquated, centralized, colonial, or totalitarian regimes. Similarly, the media and much of the current academic literature equates the modern gendarmerie model with an antiquated concept of policing that is unable to meet the modern demands of public accountability and human rights focus of modern democratic policing; however, a close analysis of gendarmeries of France, Italy, and the Netherlands shows that gendarmeries are effective in performing public-order, riot-control, and investigative police duties in modern European democracies. Gendarmeries are often placed under the auspices of various Ministries; however, officers remain members of the armed forces (Defense Ministry). Still, they are under the supervision of public prosecutors (Justice Ministry), who have a legal prerogative to monitor police activities. The military capabilities of the gendarmeries combine with their judicial police and administrative prerogatives to offer a unique approach to crisis management in hostile environments. They are able to provide continuous service on the full crisis spectrum. This makes the gendarmeries ideally suited for low-intensity, postcrisis situations that are inaccessible to regular police forces, but do not rise to the level of requiring the use of regular army troops. Modern criminal justice studies may gain useful insights by paying more attention to the specificity of the gendarmerie model and its added value for the modern responsibilities of European policing. 74 references